Migraine pain relievers can be helpful for treating excruciating migraine headaches and neck pain, but they carry a heavy price tag- your safety. Whether you take over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics or prescription migraine drugs, it’s important to constantly monitor your medication usage in order to avoid side effects or accidental overdose. Here is a quick refresher course in migraine pain relievers.
Read, read, read
If you suffer from chronic migraine headaches, then get into the habit of reading. You are your own best migraine advocate, so learn everything you can about various migraine drugs, including the latest in pain relief and migraine prophylaxis.
Don’t ignore natural alternative medicine, either. Much of the latest research regarding migraine pain relievers has focused on the beneficial properties of certain vitamins, herbs, and minerals in reducing migraine attack severity and headache frequency.
Don’t underestimate your meds
Just because a pain reliever is available without a prescription, that doesn’t mean it’s not powerful- or potentially life-threatening. Many over-the-counter (OTC) migraine pain relievers vary in strength and instructed usage.
Always read the outside label of any medication before using it, even if you think you already know what’s printed. Safety regulations and precautions change from time to time, so it’s crucial to stay updated.
Don’t get mixed up
Even the safest migraine pain meds can be potentially hazardous or ineffective when combined with other ingredients. Find out if drinking alcohol is acceptable with your current migraine treatment. Often, alcohol usage can be life-threatening when combined with certain OTC analgesics or narcotic pain relievers. Drinking milk can also reduce the potency of headache pain relievers.
Less is more
If two pain pills can relieve a really bad migraine, then three should completely obliterate even the strongest, most crushing migraine attack, right? Wrong.
More likely than not, taking more migraine pain relievers than you absolutely need won’t help you migraine go away quicker. Instead, it increases your chance of causing esophageal ulcers or damage to your stomach linings, or worse, accidental overdose.
For safety and effective migraine pain relief, always take the smallest dose recommended by the manufacturer. If your migraine still persists, then speak with a doctor or headache specialist before going above the recommended dosage.
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Like this? Read more:
Over-the-Counter Migraine Drugs- What are the Risks?
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